Amidst life’s often gloomy outlook, rays of hopeful sunshine sometimes break through the overcast as a reminder that dreams never die. For Lamar 10th grader Alex Kemp, the future has grown a little bit brighter.

A 16-year-old with an avid love of all things meteorological, he dreams of one day being a professional storm chaser. Even Kemp, however, faces a looming cloud every day — he is visually impaired. But that is not enough to stop him.

“I know that I am visually impaired,” Kemp said. “There are things that I can do and things that I can’t do, but the list of what I can’t do is really small. There’s almost nothing that I can’t do.”

With a responsible and unwavering personality, Kemp is an unstoppable, positively charged force. Always seeking beauty in the surrounding world, helping and encouraging others, he received the surprise of a lifetime — a personal visit from a professional storm chaser.

The CorePunchers storm chasing team, led by Scott Hollinger and Evan Hatch, were invited to speak to Kemp’s class by Megan Brown, Kemp’s aide. Brown said storm chasing was the center of her first conversation with Kemp.

“For as long as I’ve known Alex, he’s been fascinated with the weather,” Brown said. “At the beginning of class, he’s always telling me about the weather. He’ll be like, ‘Well, it looks like we’re going to get two inches of rain’ or something like that. But that being said, if anybody in the world deserves a kind act, it’s Alex,” Brown said.

After receiving the invitation from Brown, Hollinger traveled from Little Rock to Lamar for Kemp’s surprise.

“When I got to the school, there were probably 15 or 18 students in the room,” Hollinger said. “But it was more directed toward Alex.”

When Kemp walked into his fifth-period resource class that afternoon and carefully looked around, he knew something was out of the ordinary.

“Everyone was there and it seemed mostly normal, except that the class was a bit more packed than usual,” he said.

“I just went to my seat, and I sat down, just like I do every day.”

Unknown to Kemp, his parents — Greg and Susan — were standing in the back of the class. When the storm chasers were introduced, Kemp sat motionless in shock. Brown said Kemp’s mother walked up and whispered in his ear, “This is for you.”

“I heard Alex’s mom walk over and tell him that it was for him, and Alex just was ecstatic,” Brown said.

“He was genuinely thrilled. You could see it on his face.”

As soon as Hollinger and the CorePunchers began presenting, Hollinger knew there was something amazing about Kemp.

“I would ask questions, and every time I asked, he would answer,” Hollinger said. “I was just impressed. I was highly impressed. The knowledge he had was just unbelievable. He’s a very smart guy.”

Although Kemp dreams of working from the heart of severe weather, he said his desires are founded on the premise of ensuring the safety of others.

“There are a lot of storm chasers out there that are helping find ways to increase warning times,” Kemp said. “Not too long ago, that tornado went through Vilonia and Mayflower. There were storm chasers in the middle of all that trying to help weather stations warn people. I want to do that and do my best to help with search and rescue efforts.”

Kemp said the CorePunchers’ surprise visit encouraged him to push even harder toward his goals.

“I’m more pumped up about getting into college now,” he said. “I know there is a long way between where I am right now and where I want to be, but anything can happen in the future. I’m excited.”